PLEASANTON, Calif.– Purigen Biosystems, Inc., a leading provider of next-generation technologies for extracting and purifying nucleic acids from biological samples, today announced a new distribution agreement with GC biotech BV. Under the terms of the deal, GC biotech has received exclusive rights to distribute, service, and support Purigen’s automated Ionic® Purification System and microfluidic kits in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Clinical and oncology researchers in these countries are now able to purchase and use the automated system, which received a CE (Conformité Européene) marking in May 2021, to extract higher yields of purified DNA and RNA from challenging samples in one hour with minimal hands-on time.
“GC biotech is committed to working with the most advanced and innovative suppliers in the US and the European Union to accelerate discoveries and simplify workflows in research and clinical laboratories,” said Glenn Nohar, Owner and CEO of GC biotech BV. “Purigen’s Ionic Purification System and kits are a strong addition to our overall product portfolio and will enable our customers to rapidly generate higher yields of DNA or RNA from their most precious biological samples.”
Launched in the US market in 2019, the small benchtop Ionic Purification System enables the automated extraction of nucleic acids with dramatically increased yield and quality from a wide range of sample types, including cultured or sorted cells and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. Biological samples are gently lysed and then loaded into the Ionic® Fluidics Chip. The system then applies an electrical field to the chip and nucleic acids are isolated in their native form using the company’s core isotachophoresis (ITP) technology. Since nucleic acids are not bound or stripped from fixed surfaces, sample loss and fragmentation are minimized while purification-induced bias is eliminated. The simplified workflow requires minimal hands-on time and ensures that sufficient amounts of nucleic acid are available for all downstream analysis techniques, such as next-generation sequencing and qPCR.
“GC biotech is well known in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg for its expertise and technical capabilities,” said Aziz Mustafa, PhD, Senior Director of European Sales and Business Development for Purigen Biosystems. “This agreement is a significant step towards our goal of making the Ionic system readily available across the entire European Union.”
